The subject matter herein relates generally to solid state lighting assemblies.
Solid-state light lighting systems use solid state light sources, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), and are being used to replace other lighting systems that use other types of light sources, such as incandescent or fluorescent lamps. The solid-state light sources offer advantages over the lamps, such as rapid turn-on, rapid cycling (on-off-on) times, long useful life span, low power consumption, narrow emitted light bandwidths that eliminate the need for color filters to provide desired colors, and so on.
LED lighting systems typically include LEDs soldered down to a printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB then is mechanically attached to a heat sink of the lighting fixture. The PCB is then electrically connected to a LED driver or other power source, such as by soldering wires between the PCB and the LED driver. Some known LED lighting systems, such as chip-on-board LED systems, use sockets to provide the mechanical connection to the heat sink and the electrical connection to the PCB. For example, wires are routed from the LED driver to contacts held in the socket. The wires are typically routed around or through the heat sink to the socket side of the heat sink where the wires are terminated to the contacts. These systems are not without disadvantages. For instance, routing of the wires through the heat sink and termination of the wires to the contacts is a manual process which can be time consuming and labor intensive. Additionally, routing of the wires uses valuable real estate of the heat sink. Additionally, problems arise when the LEDs or the PCB needs to be replaced in the future. The rework process is tedious and may require a skilled person to perform the removal and replacement.
A need remains for a lighting system that may be efficiently packaged into a lighting fixture. A need remains for a lighting system that may be efficiently configured for an end use application.